Here 'til the end
by Emma-face
Summary: Catherine leaves work upset one day, Warrick follows her and it ends up changing his life in ways he could never have expected.  YoBling baby anyone?
1. Positive

"Catherine?" He shouted from the front door of her house. "Cath?" He called once more before taking a key from his pocket and opening the door. She'd given him the key a few weeks ago, for emergencies of course. He stepped into the hall and called her name again; again he received no reply.

He knew she was here, her car was in the driveway and her purse was in the hall; so why wasn't she answering his calls. She had looked kind of upset when she left work, she never even said goodbye to him and that was really unusual. Come to think of it she's been like a ghost this past week, distant and unfocused; definitely not her usual self.

"Cath?" His voice was laced with apparent concern as he wandered further into the familiar house searching for her. He pushed open the door to her bedroom, a room he'd been in many times before, it was dark but the bed was untouched; she wasn't there. He was about to turn and leave when he heard a noise coming from her en suite bathroom. He stepped up and slowly turned the handle, his heart was in his mouth with fear at what he might find on the other side of the door.

She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub with her head in her hands, her hair hung down and covered her face but he could tell from the rise and fall of her shoulders that she was sobbing. His heart sank he felt like it was breaking at the sight of the woman he loved in tears in the bathroom. He kneeled down on the floor in front of her, tenderly reaching his hand up to her chin. Raising her head until her eyes met his, he could see her eyes were red and her cheeks were tear streamed, his heart broke a little more.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked softly, his voice hardly louder than a whisper. She looked away from him, a wave of fresh tears sweeping over her. Why did he have to be so nice?

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't do that now, come on, talk to me!" He pleaded; he was starting to get really worried now.

"Warrick!" She breathed shakily, trying to regain her composure or at least her ability to speak. "I'm sorry." She cried.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Now he was worried and confused. She reached her hand up to touch his which still rested under her chin.

"I don't know how this happened. I mean...we're always careful...always...I just don't understand."

"Don't understand what Catherine? Don't know how what happened?" His voice was losing its gentle comforting tones, instead taking on a more worried one. She shook her head at him.

"I'm pregnant!" She sighed. He blinked; had he heard her correctly? Pregnant? What? His jaw dropped slightly. He had to say something, he knew he had to say something to her, he just didn't know what to say.

"What?" He finally managed to squeeze out a word. "Are you sure?"

His question was answered with a deathly glare from Catherine, who was becoming less upset and angrier by the minute. "Yes I'm sure!" She spat through gritted teeth, picking her last pregnancy test out of the trash can and pushing it into his hand. Warrick looked at the white stick in his hand, 2 blue lines in the result window, she was pregnant. "See positive! I'm never late Warrick, never! And that's the third test I've taken...each one was positive and I don't think I've kept my breakfast down in over a week. So yes, yes I'm sure!"

"I'm sorry!" He said sincerely, "I'm just...shocked!" He shook his head in disbelief.

"You and me both!" She sat down beside him on the edge of the bath, it was big news for sure, and she wasn't even sure how she felt about it herself.

"Um...how far along are you?" He asked his voice was oddly calm.

"A few weeks, 4 maybe, more. I think!"

"So that's why you've been acting kind of weird these past few weeks?" He half laughed.

She didn't know what to do, why was he being so calm about this? How was he being so calm about this? She'd been freaking out ever since she found out, worried sick about telling him. They'd only been seeing each other for a few months, they certainly hadn't discussed having children together, Catherine didn't even know if Warrick wanted kids. He was great with Lindsey but a baby would be entirely different.

"Look Warrick...I understand if you're not ready for this. I mean a having a baby completely changes your life, I should know." She gave a weak smile. "If you don't want to be involved I understand...I mean if you want to leave, I won't hold it against you!" She said dejectedly. She loved Warrick, but she wasn't about to force him to stay with him just because she was pregnant; she knew from experience how badly things turn out when that happens.

"What?" He asked, his shock changing to an indescribable mixture of hurt and anger. Did she expect him to leave her? Did she really think that about him?

"Warrick," She explained, "Having a baby...it's life changing...it puts pressure on a relationship...we're only been seeing each other for a few months for Christ's sake, you're not ready for this, we're not ready for this. And I don't want you to be with me because you feel obliged!"

"Hold on a second now Cath," He said, his voice rising slightly as did his anger level. "What makes you think I'm just gonna leave you. Yeah kids are tough, I know all that. And I'm prepared to stick it out! I'm not going anywhere Catherine. We're in this together! We might have only been seeing each other for a few months, but I've loved you for a lot longer. Maybe we're not ready for this, but we'll figure it out. We can figure it out together." He took her hand in his and exhaled deeply. Small tears made their way down her cheeks.

"Are you sure about this? Because I don't want you to say all this because you think it's what I want to hear and then 6 months down the line you walk out or run off with another woman."

"I'm not Eddie Catherine! Stop thinking that I am!" He couldn't stop his voice from rising. "I'm here for the long run; I'm talking first steps, first day at school, first date, diapers, basketball games, the lot!" His voice softened, "I love you Catherine and I want to be there for you...you and our baby...and Lindsey too!"

No longer able to control herself that tears fell in streams down Catherine's cheeks, carrying what was left of her mascara with them. But she was smiling. She looked at him for the first time since he came into the bathroom; looked deep into his soulful eyes. He was scared she could see it in his eyes, but he was smiling and he seemed sure of what he was saying.

"I love you too!" She smiled, sniffing the last of her tears away, "You really think we can do this?"

"You kidding?" He raised his eyebrows at her, "Of course we can! We might make a few mistakes, but we can do this, I mean you're already a fantastic mother and I'm sure I'll pick it up."

She beamed at him, believing him that everything would be ok. "You're going to be a wonderful father!" She raised her hand to his cheek; he reached out his arms and pulled her in to his embrace.

"So we're going to do this? We're gonna be alright?" He searched for reassurance that she was ok.

"We're going to be great!" She nodded, speaking slowly. He smiled at her and brought his lips down to meet hers briefly. Catherine closed her eyes, absorbing the bliss of the moment, the calm after the storm, only to be interrupted by a thought crossing her mind. Her eyes widen as she leaned back to look him in the eye.

"How are we going to tell Lindsey?" She asked.


	2. Telling Lindsey

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I hope chapter 2 does not disappoint - sorry it took so long to get up, I had trouble finding the time to write it. But well here it is - Telling Lindsey!

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" She asked him for what might have been the tenth time in the past hour.

"Ready for what?" He quipped, "For having a baby, telling Lindsey about the baby or for dealing with the hormonal pregnant woman in the living room?" He joked, he knew he probably shouldn't but if she asked him one more time whether or not he was ready for the run in with Lindsey he would explode.

"Sorry." She muttered; she couldn't help it. Warrick was about to witness one of Lindsey's fits, something no amount of warning could prepare a person for and the worst part is he didn't even seem to realise.

"Cath!" His voice was smooth and calm, "Relax! It's going to be fine...she can't be that bad!" He remarked. She said nothing in reply but looked at him in an oh-really-well-we'll-see kind of way.

Taking a deep breath she sat down on one end of the couch, the end closest to the chair Warrick was seated in, she was ready. "Okay!" She breathed deeply again. "Let's do this. Lindsey!"

A high pitched teenaged voice chimed back from her bedroom down the hall. "What Mom?"

"Could you come in here for a second, please? I wanna talk to you!"

"Mom I didn't do anything I swear!"

Catherine rolled her eyes, slapping Warrick's knee as he tried unsuccessfully to hide his laughter. "I know honey! I just want to talk to you...It'll only take a second come on!"

There was no verbal response but the sound of her bedroom door opening and closing gave them an indication that she was coming. Warrick reached over and gave Catherine's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as the young blonde made her way to the living room.

"What is it Mom?" She asked walking into the room, "Oh hi Warrick!" Her face scrunched up in mild confusion as she wondered what he was doing there but she just shrugged it off.

"Sweetie sit down please!" Catherine requested her daughter, patting the space beside her on the couch, slowly working up the nerve to break the news to her. Now Lindsey was starting to worry.

"What's wrong Mom? " She asked, her voice sounding a little strained due her nerves. "Am I in trouble?"

"No!" Catherine replied with a small laugh.

"Did someone die? Is Grandma sick?" The teenager's face looked panic stricken at these thoughts.

"No. No! Sweetie it's nothing like that." Catherine assured her daughter with a warm smile; salty tears filling her eyes as she gazed upon the angelic face of her first born, she raised her hand to Lindsey's cheek and stroked it lovingly.

"Ok now you're kind of scaring me." Lindsey laughed nervously, "What's going on?"

Catherine inhaled deeply and took a look back at Warrick, in his eyes she found all the support she needed and she felt ready for this.

"Well Lindsey...there's something I...we want to talk to you about..." She bit her bottom lip nervously, knowing that if she didn't get this out now she would lose her nerve. "This may come as a bit of a shock to you but I want you to know..." One last deep breath. "I'm pregnant!" She finally came out with it; she had to admit it felt good getting it off her chest. She felt Warrick's hand reach for hers and she glanced at him as he smiled proudly at her.

They both returned their attentions to the slightly shell shocked teenager sitting on the couch. Her brow was furrowed and her jaw was dropped slightly; she opened her mouth a few times as though she were about to say something but then changed her mind and remained deep in thought.

She needed to get things straight.

"You're pregnant?" She asked.

"Yes!" Catherine nodded slowly; awaiting the eruption of screams.

"How pregnant?"

"Just a few weeks." Catherine still waited. Why was she being so calm?

"And it's Warrick's? ... Obviously!" She asked, rolling her eyes as she answered her own question.

"Yeah!" Warrick answered this time. He looked at Catherine who was looking more confused than Lindsey had. They both eyed the teenager cautiously awaiting the next question. There was a moment of silence as she mulled over the facts before a sweet smile spread across her face.

"Congratulations you guys!" She beamed, for a second Catherine even thought she saw happy tears in her daughter's eyes. The couple just stared at her in shock. "You guys are happy about this aren't you?" She questioned.

"Of course we are!" They replied in unison.

"This is great news then!" Lindsey smiled again, getting up to hug her mother and Warrick.

"Umm...yeah it's fantastic!" Catherine was still a little confused by her daughter's reaction. "Warrick, could you excuse us for a moment please?" She asked him, he took her subtle hint that she wanted some girl talk time with her daughter and thought it best he left them to it.

"Yeah sure not a problem!" Getting up out of his chair he kissed his partner on the cheek before heading towards the kitchen. "I'm going to make us all some dinner anyway."

Once Warrick could be heard rattling pans in the kitchen Catherine turned to the young girl sitting beside her.

"Ok it's just us now." She eyed her warily, "Talk to me!" She was afraid Lindsey was pretending to be ok with the pregnancy because Warrick was there; she wanted to be sure that Lindsey was alright, she was more important to her than anything right now.

"Mom I'm really happy for you! Really!" Lindsey smiled at her mother; she could see how concerned she was.

"That's all you have to say? You don't want to scream at me or storm off to you room or tell me you hate me?" Catherine asked; who was this girl and what had she done with her temperamental teen?

"No!" Lindsey laughed and took her mother's hand. "Look Mom I'm not a little kid anymore, I'm ok with this, really, I think it's great news! Warrick is a great guy! I'm happy for you!" She hugged her shocked mother and Catherine's eyes filled up with tears again. "I'm going back to my room now; call me when dinner's ready!" She skipped off down the hallway to her room.

Dumbfounded Catherine went to join Warrick in the kitchen.

"Well that went well!" He remarked; not turning round to look at her as he threw some ingredients into the saucepan he was stirring.

"Yeah, really well!" Catherine sat down at the table, still shocked. With everything under control and the bolognaise sauce simmering gently in the pan, he joined her at the table.

"You seem shocked?" He questioned her reaction.

"Yeah!" Catherine shook her head, "I can't believe she took it so well. I was expecting more screaming and fighting but she took it...so well. I guess she really is growing up!" Catherine smiled and Warrick smiled back at her.

"She's a great kid Cath!"

"I know! She thinks your great too!" Catherine moved to sit on his lap. "She's right too!"

Warrick smiled at the compliment "I guess I just know how to charm the Willows women!" He teased her. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

* * *

"This is the best spaghetti I've ever tasted!" Informed Lindsey in mild shock when she tasted the dinner Warrick had prepared.

"It really is!" Agreed Catherine.

"You know what's great? Now that Warrick's moving in we can have dinners like this all the time!" Beamed the teenager causing Warrick to laugh at the hidden insult to Catherine's cooking. It wasn't that she was a bad cook, she just lacked the patience a lot of the time; even she had to agree that he was the better chief. Catherine glared at her daughter momentarily, secretly thinking the same thing.

After dinner Cath and Warrick curled up on the couch together and Lindsey headed back to her room before they 'got with the smoochies' as she so charmingly put it.

"So I'll call the moving company tomorrow and get my stuff packed up as soon as possible." Warrick explained as his fingers laced with hers.

"Sounds good to me!" She answered sleepily. "Today went well!" She mused closing her eyes as she laid her head back on Warrick's torso.

"Yeah." He agreed, his own eyes getting heavy. "Now all we have to do is hope it goes as well when we tell the guys." He laughed. Catherine sat up and looked at him recognising that her look meant she didn't want to tell them he laughed again. "Well Cath it's going to be a little hard to hide!"

"I know...it's just I was thinking we could not tell them...for a little while! You know like at least until I'm a few months pregnant and everything's going well!"

He smiled at her and pulled her back to lie on his chest saying "Of course we can do that; anything you want, Mommy!"

An uncontrollable smile spread across her face at his 'Mommy' comment. She was going to be a mommy again. To their baby! And she couldn't wait.


	3. Sharing the news

"Something I said?" The supervisor's face was the picture of confusion as he looked around the other members of his team. He was in the process of delegating assignments when Catherine had suddenly leapt out of her seat and ran from the room, leaving everyone rather confused; well everyone except Warrick who just looked worried.

"Uhh...I'm going to go check on her." Warrick stood up, hoping that it didn't look too suspicious that he was running out after her. The team exchanged wondering looks but no one spoke to voice them and Warrick left the break room, heading in the direction on the bathrooms. When he arrived there he found Catherine at the sinks splashing cold water on her sweat covered face. She turned to see who had entered the bathroom and her eyebrows narrowed when she saw it was her lover standing before her and not some mousey lab rat.

"Hey, it's not like I haven't been in here before." He laughed, remembering the day he had accidentally wandered into the women's bathroom by mistake. His comment made her laugh as she turned off the tap. "How do you feel?"

"Pregnant!" She grunted at him rolling her eyes. "It's funny how you conveniently forget how bad morning sickness can be."

Warrick reached out and pulled his pregnant girlfriend into his arms and kissed her forehead. "You know Cath," he spoke softly in her ear, "this is what the tenth time you've had to run out of a group meeting because of morning sickness and that's not counting the times you've been sick on the way to and even that one time at a crime scene."

"I know." She sighed into his chest. "We're going to have to tell them soon." She agreed.

"Well, it is getting a lot harder to keep it a secret." He smiled; he was getting very excited about becoming a father, he couldn't wait to tell the world, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear but he kept it quiet because Catherine wanted to. They had been for their first scan and everything was great, the baby was perfectly healthy and could be expected sometime in late October.

"Alright then, let's tell them." She looked up at him and smiled. At first she had been worried about telling the team. She was worried for many reasons; she was afraid something might go wrong in the early stages of the pregnancy – I mean these things do happen, she was worried about how they would react to the news of her and Warrick's relationship not to mention how they would react to the idea of then having a child together and a very small but very hard to ignore part of her was worried that Warrick might still change his mind about being with her – if that happened she didn't want the team to think any less of him, she would just tell them it was someone else's when the time came.

But in the last few weeks Warrick had been amazing. He was involved in everything, he was talking about strollers and cribs; he was so involved. She knew he was serious about being with her, and it made her happier than she ever knew she could be. He smiled back down at her, hardly able to control his excitement about sharing their happy news with their closest friends. They deal with so many bad things in their line of work it's always nice to have some good news.

Warrick's arm wrapped around Catherine's waist, the couple walked out of the women's restroom, down the corridor of the lab and into the break room. Pausing for a moment outside the door they took a deep breath and looked at each other. In Catherine's eyes Warrick saw happiness and excitement and a little apprehension; he saw the woman he was madly in love with, the woman that was carrying his unborn child, he saw his world. Releasing the breath she smiled at him.

"You ready?" She asked.

"Let's do this!" He smiled back.

* * *

Hand in hand they entered the break room and were greeted by a table full of concerned faces.

"You ok Cath?" Sara asked her ghostly pale colleague.

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine it's just." She drew a breath. "Grissom...I'm going to need to apply for some time off in the not too distant future." She began.

"What?" The team gasped.

"Why? What's wrong Catherine?" Grissom was worried. How could he not know that one of his best friends was sick.

"It's nothing serious!" She answered quickly. Feeling a squeeze from Warrick's hand she continued with a smile. "Well it's nothing bad anyway, I'll just need to be taking some maternity leave!" Her smile was now as broad as was possible. It felt great sharing the news with the team.

There was a collective intake of breath as Catherine's words registered with everyone and it was Sara who spoke first.

"Oh my God! Congratulations!" Sara jumped out of her seat and ran to hug the older woman.

"I'm going to be an uncle!" Cried Nick excitedly rushing over to hug them too.

"And it is Warrick's?" Greg sought confirmation. The whole team knew he and Catherine were together, they weren't as secretive as they would like to have believed.

"Yes it's mine fool!" Warrick smiled behind Catherine, shaking his head at the young CSI.

"That's awesome!" The goofy ex-lab tech grinned as he hurried over to hug the couple.

"That's wonderful news guys! I'm really happy for you." Grissom looked into the blue eyes of his best friend, taking joy in the happiness he saw sparkling in them. "And maternity leave will not be a problem!" He said with a smile, wrapping his arms around Catherine.

The team continued to talk excitedly about Catherine and Warrick's expected child.

"So when are you due?" Sara asked not getting to hear the answer as she covered her mouth and ran from the room. The team looked around at each other with shocked expressions on their faces; it seemed they were all thinking the same thing _'Sara too?' _

After Sara returned and assured everyone she was ok but made no further announcements a cough in the doorway stole their attention and instructed them all to get back to work.

"Sure thing Ecklie!" Catherine replied, however Ecklie failed to notice the sarcastic tone in her voice and headed off down the hallway to terrorize some unsuspecting lab rats.

"Hey, do you think Ecklie would like to be godfather?" Warrick joked and received a slap from Catherine while the rest of the team erupted into fits of laughter.


	4. Baby shopping

"Oh my God! That's our baby!" Catherine sobbed lying on the gynaecologist's table looking at the sonogram picture on the screen. Looking to her right she saw a single tear trickle down Warrick's cheek as he stared at the picture in awe, unable to put into words the emotion he was feeling.

"Do you two want to know the sex of the baby?" Dr. Miller asked them.

"No!" Warrick replied with great certainty; he and Catherine had discussed it and decided that they would rather wait and find out.

"But...uhh...you know? I mean you could tell us right now whether we're having a boy or a girl?" Catherine inquired. Warrick looked at her, his eyes wide and confused.

"I could..." Sensing the tension rising between the couple Dr Miller decided to give them some privacy to discuss things between them. "I'll...uhh...I'll just give you a moment." She said hurrying out of the examination room.

"I thought we agreed that we didn't want to know." Warrick looked at his partner, her resistance was fading; she couldn't help it, nosiness was in her nature.

"I know!" She whined. "It's just she knows!" Catherine huffed gesturing towards the door with her arm. "She knows what kind of baby we're having and I don't!"

Warrick couldn't help but laugh; Catherine could be so childish sometimes.

"Look baby, if you want to know then you can ask the doctor. Just don't tell me. I'd rather wait." He compromised with her.

"No it's ok. We'll both wait." She smiled at him even though it was still bothered her that she didn't know.

-

"We have to go pick up Lindsey." Catherine informed Warrick as they got into the car. He looked at her like she'd gone crazy.

"Cath it's 12:30 Lindsey doesn't get out of school for like 4 hours." He explained to the clearly confused woman.

"I know!" She said looking down at the floor guiltily. "I sort of told her she could come baby shopping with us today. Warrick she was so excited when I said she could come." She tried to justify herself to him; not that she needed to.

"You're getting soft in your pregnancy you know that?" He teased her. "So what? We're busting her out of school?"

"Well...something like that. Just drive!" She felt it best that he didn't know anything about the horrible lie she was about to tell Lindsey's principal.

With Lindsey now accompanying them in the backseat they decided to go get some lunch before they embarked on their shopping spree. Choosing a restaurant close to the mall they ordered their food, some more than others, and waited for it to be served.

"You know I've been thinking that we should probably start thinking about a few names for the baby. Because I gotta tell ya, names are hard and you don't want to be unprepared." Catherine informed her child and lover. She was four and a half months pregnant now and so far everything was going great, with the exception that her raging hormones meant she spent half her time yelling at Warrick and the other half crying about how much she loved him.

"Ah come on, how hard can it be?" Warrick scoffed but he didn't think Cath heard him since she had been distracted by the waiter had arriving with her food. Once he was gone and Catherine had checked that everything she had ordered was just how she requested she returned to the conversation.

"It's very hard. Lindsey here went by the name Baby for 3 weeks here while I wrecked my brains for a name."

"What?" Lindsey's voice was an octave higher than usual.

"Oh, pretend you didn't hear that sweetie!" She stroked her daughter's hair as Warrick tried hard not to laugh.

"So any ideas?" She asked them, she wanted very much for Lindsey to feel involved in this whole thing. No one volunteered any suggestions so she went first.

"Well if you don't have any ideas, I do. I was thinking, if it's a boy, we could call it Sam. Sort of in memory of him." Warrick and Lindsey nodded.

"How about if it's a girl, you call her Willow. Like your last name Mom. Well that is assuming the baby will have Warrick's last name, otherwise that's just stupid Willow Willows!" The teenage blonde laughed.

"That's not a bad idea Lynds!" Warrick complemented her.

"And of course the baby will have the last name Brown." Cath reassured Warrick with a smile. "I was thinking as well that we could name a girl after your grandmother May."

Warrick looked choked up at the sentiment; his grandmother was the only other woman in the world he loved as much as Catherine. "Really? She would have really liked that." He smiled tears welled up in his eyes giving them a watery shine. Catherine smiled at him, he could be such a sap sometimes.

"We still have another four and a half months to think more about names." She reminded them as she finished off her spaghetti Bolognese with extra pickles.

After a small argument and a split check later the group found themselves wandering around the countless baby stores and child's departments that the mall had to offer in search of what they needed, which was everything essentially. So far they had picked out a stroller, bedroom furniture, a car seat and all the necessary bottles and changing mats. All they really needed now was a crib and bedding for it.

"How 'bout that one?" Lindsey pointed to a large pine crib in the far corner of the store. "It would match the rest of the furniture we picked out!" She pointed out. She was right. The pine tied in perfectly with the other items they had chosen for the baby's room and it was beautifully crafted.

"It's perfect! Nice eye Lindsey." Catherine congratulated her daughter, feeling very proud that she had inherited her mother's eye for interior design. "We'll take this one." She nodded to the sales assistant. Now all they had to do was pick out bedding. This proved to be the hardest part due to the fact that it had to be neutral; nothing too boyish and nothing too girly. They looked at dozens of different bed sheets in the store before Cath declared that they would have to go to another baby store to find bedding.

"Don't look at me like that Warrick; we wouldn't be having this problem if you had let me ask the doctor the sex of the baby!" She snapped at him when he sighed at having to go to another baby store. He was ready to tell remind her that he had said she could ask if she wanted to and it had been _her_ final decision not to ask; but he realised he would be wasting his breath because it was the hormones talking and he stood no chance against them.

Catherine led the begrudging pair to the next store, even Lindsey was getting sick of shopping at this stage. Walking into what had to be the last baby department in the mall Catherine squealed and ran into the clothing section.

"Oh my God look at this dress! Look how cute it is!" She gushed, holding up a tiny white linen dress with little pink flowers decorating the hem.

"And if it's a boy?" Warrick asked.

"I dunno. We give it to Sara's kid?" She joked.

"And if Sara doesn't have a girl?"

"We shrink Lindsey!" She smiled hopefully before regretfully returning the dress to the railing and sighing. "But if we have a girl, we're coming back here to buy that dress." She informed him, poking him sharply in the chest as if to emphasise her point. He rolled his eyes and nodded at her.

After a long search Catherine decided she had found the perfect bedding for the baby's crib and wanting desperately to get out of there Warrick and Lindsey wholeheartedly agreed.

"Can we go now?" Sighed Lindsey exasperated. Warrick ushered them towards the car, thwarting any attempt Catherine made to slip into other shops along the way.

"I never thought I'd say this," Lindsey spoke from the backseat. "But I am so tired of shopping!" Warrick laughed in the driver's seat, but Catherine had fallen asleep shortly after they had pulled out of the parking lot; she was exhausted.

"You know today was fun, but how about from now on we let Cath go baby shopping with Sara?" Warrick suggested to Lindsey who fully agreed that it was a wonderful idea.

* * *

**A/N: **So nothing really happens in this chapter but hopefully you enjoyed the fluffy filler 


	5. Desk duty

Catherine groaned as she bent down to examine some fibres caught in the fence. Bending down was definitely getting more difficult due to her ever growing stomach. Her nose wrinkled in concentration as she removed the fibres and examined them before slipping them into a little brown evidence envelope.

"What is it?" Sara asked her crouching companion.

"Creamy coloured fibres. Could be from our guy's pants, maybe." She groaned again as she got back to her feet with the assistance of Sara. Sighing heavily she resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be working in the field for much longer. She was almost 6 months pregnant now and there was no denying that her movements were becoming more...limited.

"Hey Sara, can I ask you something?"

"Sure!" She chirped.

"Does it not piss you off that we get stuck with every B&E and trick roll in town just because we're pregnant? And even when we do get to a murder scene, we get stuck working the perimeter. Pretty soon I'm going to be on desk duty and I think I'll go crazy!" She warned the younger, also pregnant, CSI.

"Oh it completely sucks! And don't think I didn't give Gil hell over suggesting the whole 'you two can stay in the field if you stick to less dangerous scenes' thing."

"Really? How'd that go?"

"Well...until I started crying." Sara laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Hormones!" They said in unison.

"I just miss the excitement of proper crime scenes, proper investigating you know. I'm so sick of dealing with the victims of prostitute theft and home invasions. I mean it's a risk you take when you hire a hooker; theft and sexually transmitted diseases. And as for the home invasion 'victims' all they want is a police report so they can cash in on their home insurance policies." Catherine vented her frustration. She was sick of being wrapped up in cotton wool just because she was having a baby. "I mean even in the lab, Hodges won't let me touch anything in his lab. He even makes me stand at the door when I'm waiting for results!" Sara laughed.

"Yeah, but Hodges is an ass. He makes me do the same, unless Grissom's there. He's probably just afraid of one of us going into labour in his lab or something." They both laughed.

"The joys of being a woman huh?" Catherine sighed. She felt considerably better after letting it all out. She was very grateful to Sara for listening to her; at least Sara knew what she was going through. They had both worked hard to get to where they were in their jobs and now they were pregnant it was like they'd been demoted. It was unfair, to say the least.

"Come on! Let's go drown our sorrows with ice cream." Sara suggested as they loaded the evidence they collected into the back of the Denali.

-

It wasn't even a week later when Catherine was removed from field work and stuck unwillingly behind a desk and a big pile of paperwork. She put up a big protest, insisting that she was perfectly capable of doing her job but her protest was unsuccessful, especially when she had to leave to go to the bathroom half way through it.

"It's out of my hands Cath!" Grissom informed her with a sad shake of his head. "Ecklie says you're a liability in the field now."

"He said what?" Cath exploded and stormed off to find Ecklie and give him an earful. It didn't help but it felt damn good.

"I can't believe I'm stuck behind that desk all day! I hate it! It's so boring!" She whined to Warrick on the way to work. Warrick was secretly glad that she'd been taken out of the field; it meant he worried about her less but he wasn't stupid enough to tell her that so he just drove silently nodding in agreement.

Her days were spent looking over old case notes and filing paperwork, it was mind numbingly dull. _'If I don't find something better to do I swear I'll snap and kill someone__ At least th__en__ I would have something to investigate.' _She thought to herself. After 3 weeks of desk duty Cath was getting cabin fever or office fever as it were. Thankfully though it wasn't long before she received a break in her lonely days.

"Liability my ass!" Sara shouted as Grissom and Nick ushered her into Catherine's office.

"Hey Cath! Thought you could use some company!" Grissom said cheerfully as he and Nick deposited the protesting Sara in her office.

"Have fun ladies!" Nick drawled and hurried out of the room. If looks could kill Nicky would be dead.

"Welcome to hell!" Catherine said scathingly.

"What are you in for anyway? You're only like 5 months pregnant; you're only starting to show." She asked the younger, less pregnant CSI.

"I...I fainted at a scene yesterday, something about my blood pressure being low. So now I'm stuck in the office until I pop." Sara explained viciously.

The pair spent the rest of the day bitching about how unfair it was that they were stuck doing desk work for the duration of their pregnancies and calling Ecklie and their respective partners some very colourful names.

"I'm telling you it's a conspiracy to make us start our maternity leave early!" Catherine said indignantly and Sara nodded. She had to admit it, although she really hated to, the day was going a lot faster now she had a friend to keep her company.

Over the next few weeks Catherine and Sara accepted their paperwork fate and used their time productively, gossiping and conspiring against their co-workers. They reminisced over old cases as they reviewed the case files before filing them for storage and snuck out for extra long lunch and coffee breaks together. It actually wasn't as bad as they first thought; although they would never let anyone know that.

-

"Special delivery!" Smiled Nick as he entered Catherine's office carrying a very large cardboard box. Catherine and Sara looked from him to the large box he had just set down on the table work.

"Great more paper work! Just what we needed!" Sara said dryly, glaring at Nick.

"Hey I'm just the delivery boy!" Nick held his hands up in defence.

"Well Mr Delivery boy, next time you come to this office you better be delivering cake and ice cream instead of paper work! Or else!" Catherine stared at him menacingly.

"Or else what?" Nick asked nervously.

"You...Don't wanna know!" Sara gave him a threatening smile and shook her head. She was right he didn't want to know. He hurried out of the office and headed off to meet the rest of the team at a scene.

"Do you think he'll come back with cake?" Sara asked Cath innocently.

"Probably not. I think we scared him away." Cath said sadly, she was craving some cake. "Although on the bright side he won't be back with more paperwork!" She looked on the bright side. Continuing the conversation they'd been having before Nick had dropped in Catherine asked Sara the question she never had the chance to answer.

"So did you and Gil find out the sex of the baby?"

"No." Sara shook her head and wrinkled her nose slightly. "We talked about it and decided against it. I'd rather wait!" She shrugged. "Did you and Warrick?"

"No we didn't either. He really doesn't want to know. Wants it to be a surprise." Catherine rolled her eyes. "I didn't find out with Lindsey, so I'm not going to find out with this baby either."

Sara nodded in agreement as she read over one of the old case files that Nick had just dropped in. Her attention was torn from the pages in front of her by a pained grunt and an "Oh shit!" From Catherine.

-

"Brown."

"Warrick! Get to the hospital. Quickly!" A frantic Sara screamed down the phone.

"What? Sara! What's it?" He asked trying to stay calm.

"Just get to the damn hospital!" She screamed at him. He started to worry.

"Sara is there something wrong with Cath? Sara? Sara what's going on?" He was sounding as frantic as her now, but there was no reply; the line was dead, Sara had hung up.

Explaining the situation to Grissom Warrick ran to his Denali and sped to the hospital, his mind racing and full of dreadful possibilities.

* * *

**A/N: **My first ever sort of cliffhanger! O Hope it wasn't too painful! 


	6. Special Delivery

"Sara! Sara, what is it? What's going on? Where is she?" The questions raced from Warrick's mouth, his voice was fraught with worry.

"She's in there!" Sara pointed to the room she had just walked out of. "She's fine!" She assured him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he hurried into the room. Turning in the doorway he spoke to her.

"Sara, next time don't hang up on me!"

Sara let out a guilty giggle and went off to use the phone.

Inside the room Catherine was sitting dressed in a hospital gown, propped up by pillows smiling at him.

"Hey you made it!" She said cheerfully. "You really shouldn't have hurried though, apparently I might be here a while." She rolled her eyes.

"What happened?" Warrick asked. "Sara wasn't exactly clear on the phone." There was the smallest hint of bitterness as he spoke his final words.

"Basically, my waters broke in the lab!" Catherine spoke with false cheerfulness and a fake smile. "Sara rushed me to the hospital in her car. I think we broke at least half, if not three quarters, of the speeding laws in the book." She laughed as she remembered the frightening car journey.

"Well don't worry I broke the other half on my way here." He flashed her a bright smile and took her hand. "So how are you? What did the doctors say?"

"I'm fine, thankful I was in my office when it happened and not somewhere more public!" She chuckled. "My waters have broken but the doctors say that I'm hardly dilated and my contractions are few and far between, not that I'm complaining about that, anyway they say we could be in for a bit of a wait." She grimaced at him.

"But everything is alright, with the baby? Everything is fine?" He asked; he was starting to get jittery in the face of his impending fatherhood.

"Everything is fine!" She assured him, kissing the hand that held a tight grip over her own. "Sara's gone to call Lindsey and ask Grissom to pick her up. She'll want to be here."

"Of course. Of course." Warrick sighed. "I never even thought to pick her up on my way here." He beat himself up; he didn't want Lindsey to feel excluded from any of this.

"You had no idea what was going on! Not to mention the panic you were probably in. Don't worry about it." She was choked at Warrick's guilt. He was really great with Lindsey, like the father she always wished Eddie could have been to her, he was going to be a great father to their child. A small tear fell from her eye as these thoughts went through her head.

"Hey what's all this?" He asked as he wiped the tear from her face.

"Nothing, happy tears." She smiled. "I just can't believe that pretty soon our baby is going to be born."

"I know!" He said excitedly and squeezed her hand.

"So I called Gil and he said he would pick Linds..." Sara trailed off as she took in the scene. "Sorry I didn't mean to intrude!" She blushed slightly and backed off, afraid she had just ruined the moment the couple were sharing.

"No. You're not!" Warrick assured her. "And I know I didn't say it earlier, but thanks for calling me Sar." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"No problem. Anyway...yeah I called Griss and he's on his way to pick up Lindsey now, they should be here in about 15 minutes."

"Thanks Sara! For everything. I don't know what I would have done without you." Catherine beamed from her bed.

-

**13 hours later...**

"I don't believe this!" Catherine gave an exasperated sigh. She was uncomfortable, really uncomfortable, and this baby was showing no intention of coming anytime soon. She sat forward allowing Warrick to adjust her pillows. "14 hours! I've been in labour for 14 lousy hours now! Where the hell is my baby?" She ranted, leaning back into her pillows. Warrick didn't know what to say, he had a feeling that there was nothing he could say to make it batter so he settled for stroking her arm in an attempt to comfort her.

"Any news?" Sara's voice came from the doorway.

"5cm! Five freakin' centimetres. I mean that's only like halfway dilated." Came Catherine's frantic reply.

"Aww!" Sara sympathised with the older woman, secretly hoping that her own labour would not be this long. "I take it Lindsey's labour didn't take this long?"

"Ha! Lindsey practically fell out. I could have had 3 Lindsey's with the amount of time this kid is taken." Catherine was really getting fed up.

"Hey speaking of, where is Lindsey?" Warrick asked Sara.

"Well...she got kind of bored in the hallway there, says she didn't know having a baby took this damn long. I got Greg to give her a ride home, told her to shower and pack a few things and bring them here for you. I'm going to go collect her soon." Sara informed them.

"Thanks Sara! Wait a second. Why aren't you away home yourself?" Cath inquired. Sara looked away somewhat guiltily.

"Well, technically I should be at work but I really couldn't face the thought of that office and all that paperwork alone. So I spoke nicely to Gil and he said I could take the day off. The rest of the guys had to go back to work so I promised I'd keep them posted." Sara admitted, shuddering slightly at the thought of all the paperwork that remained to be done. Catherine and Warrick looked at her and laughed. "Anyway," Sara looked at her watch. "I better go pick Lindsey up; I'll be back in a few. You guys want me to bring anything?" She offered, they declined and she left the hospital.

-

"Wow 21 hours! That's gotta hurt!" Greg grimaced on Catherine's behalf, his hands clutching his own non-existent uterus.

"I know! Who knew giving birth took so long?" Lindsey shook her head slowly in awe.

"At least she's in delivery now!" Catherine's mum pointed out.

Catherine's mother, Lindsey, Greg, Nick, Sara and Grissom were all assembled in the waiting room, Cath had just been taken down to the delivery suite after a gruelling 21 hour labour and now all that was left to do was wait some more.

"I swear if our kid takes this long to arrive...!" Sara made a quiet empty threat in Grissom's ear. It was all he could do to stop himself from laughing at her. Luckily he was provided with a welcome distraction. Warrick came bursting through the doors of the waiting room wearing scrubs over her clothes and with tears streaming down his face. It was a bit of a shock to the team to see Warrick cry, even if they were happy tears; it was something they had never experienced before.

"Well?" Exclaimed Catherine's mother impatiently before Warrick even had the chance to draw a breath.

"It's a boy! We have a boy. I have a son!" A huge smile spread across his face as he punched the air in celebration. Smiles spread across the faces of everyone in the waiting room as they all offered their congratulations.

"How's Cath?" Sara asked him.

"She's great. Relieved I think." He gave a small laugh. "But she's fine; they both are!" He beamed.

"Can we see her?" Lindsey asked him eagerly. He nodded.

"You and your grandma can come in with me now. I'll bring him out to meet the rest of you guys after he's been fed. They don't want Cath to have too many visitors just yet, it might overwhelm her." He looked somewhat apologetically at his co-workers who all understood perfectly well. He felt proud that they had friends who were willing to wait for so long to share this with them.

"Come on!" He gestured to the two women to follow him as he led them back to Catherine's room.

-

Almost an hour later, the team still remained in the waiting room. Nick and Greg were discussing something at one side of the room. On the other side Sara, who hadn't been home from the hospital yet, had fallen asleep on Grissom's shoulder as he read a magazine. The door opened again and Sara stirred from her sleep.

"Hey guys!" They were all surprised to hear Catherine's tired voice in the doorway. They all stood up at once and moved to surround her as Warrick followed her in carrying the baby, wrapped in a bundle of blankets. He was looking down at the tiny baby in complete awe.

"Hey everyone, there's someone we'd like you to meet." He turned so the group could see the tiny baby he was holding in his arms. The baby was fast asleep. He looked just like Warrick only he had Catherine's nose. Poking out from under the blankets he was wrapped in they could see that he had a head of jet black hair.

"Everyone, this is Samuel James Brown." Catherine introduced the baby to the group. They all cooed and "aww"ed at the baby.

"He's beautiful!" Wept Sara and everyone agreed.


	7. Making adjustments

Back in the seclusion of their private hospital room Catherine and Warrick laid their baby down in his cot to sleep. The team had to leave to get some sleep before shift, they'd even talked Sara into going home to sleep as well and Cath's mom had taken Lindsey to school. Catherine sat down wearily on the bed, Warrick sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her. She dropped her head to his shoulder and sighed.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Warrick asked planting a soft kiss in her hair.

"Tired!" She sighed into his chest. "But it was worth it. Look at him!"

The tiny baby boy lay peacefully in the cot, his blue blanket wrapped over him snugly. Behind his closed eyelids lay eyes that Cath believed would undoubtedly turn out to be the same beautiful shade of green as Warrick's. The proud parents beamed over their newborn baby.

"You know, if I hadn't gone through 21 hours of labour and been there when this little guy came out I would wonder if I actually had any claim to him. He looks exactly like you, Daddy!" Catherine looked dotingly on her son, shooting her eyebrows up at Warrick when she called him Daddy.

She had a point the baby looked exactly like Warrick; same shape of face, same jaw line and full pink lips. Tiny black curls fell onto his creamy brown forehead serving to make him look even more like his father. Warrick smiled down into the cot.

"That's not true, he has your nose!" He shrugged at her, but there was no denying the baby's resemblance to him. Cath giggled slightly.

"Can you believe this? I mean look at him, look what we did! He's perfect." The exhausted woman gushed as tears fell down her cheeks. She cursed the fact that the hormones don't stop after the baby comes out. Warrick hugged her tightly, slow tears falling down his own cheeks and landing in her hair.

"I know!" He whispered. He looked at his tired girlfriend. "You should get some rest, Mommy! This little guy's going to be up soon and he's going to be hungry." He got up off the bed to let Catherine lie down. She was more than happy to oblige, falling quickly into a deep sleep.

Warrick sat on the armchair in the corner of the room, watching his family sleep. He could safely say that this was, by far, the happiest moment of his life.

The next day, with mother and baby checked over and in perfect health, Warrick escorted them and his surrogate daughter Lindsey home as they embarked on the beginning of their new family life together.

"This is when the fun really starts!" Catherine gave him a sneaky smile. _'Why does that sound threatening?' _Warrick thought to himself as he carried the bay full of baby supplies in from the car.

The next few weeks were filled with adjustments. The first few days they had to adjust to functioning during daylight hours, the week after that they had to adjust to being woke up periodically throughout the night, the next few weeks after that they had to adjust to following a new routine that involved the new baby, Lindsey's school work and Warrick returning to work. It took a bit of getting used to and a lot of working things out but eventually they found themselves settled into a nice routine.

Warrick would come home from work, cook breakfast and wake Lindsey for school. Cath who was usually already up with a now 2 month old Sam would feed the baby while he cooked. Catherine would then load Lindsey and Sam into the car leaving the house quiet and empty for Warrick to get some sleep. She would drop Lindsey off and school and then either run errands or call in with Sara to pass the time. When she got back she would feed Sam again and put him down for a nap. Then she would try to steal a few hours sleeping next to Warrick because she missed him when he was out at work. Warrick would get up when Sam did and spend some time with his son. He would then go collect Lindsey from school and have her home in time for the family dinner before he showered and got ready for work again. They were like a little clockwork family.

-

Waking up from his sleep Warrick exited the bedroom to find Catherine playing with Sam on the living room floor. He was lying, rolling over and kicking while Catherine tickled him and returned him to his original position on the play mat. He stood in the doorway and admired this beautiful sight. She was kneeling over the 5 month old baby smiling down on him as he giggled and babbled back up at her. Standing there watching her dote on their son made him fall in love with her all over again. She was amazing.

Stepping into the room he joined them on the mat to join in the fun. He was greeted with two large smiles and a kiss from Cath as he made faces at Sam who went into fits of laughter. They were playing together on the floor when Sam rolled over onto his stomach. Catherine was getting ready to roll him back over onto his back again when he propped himself up on his hands and knees. Catherine stopped in surprise at how steady he was holding himself up.

She and Warrick looked at each other sharing a proud look when Sam wriggled his hips and moved forward. Catherine's jaw dropped.

"Did he just...?" She looked at Warrick who was watching the baby carefully as he raised himself up again and with another wriggle of the hips he moved further forward.

"I think he did!" He looked back at Catherine who was now beaming with pride at her son crawling for the first time. "Isn't he a little young to be crawling?" Warrick's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"A little I guess, but you can never really tell how they're going to develop." She grinned as he took another wriggle forward. "Look at him go!" She laughed.

"Yeah!" Warrick's grin was giving Cath's a run for her money as they watched their son wriggle his way to the edge of the play mat before they lifted him and put him back in its centre.

"I gotta tell Lindsey!" Cath jumped up excitedly, reaching for her phone to send Lindsey a text message.

_'Hey Linds, guess what! Sam's crawling! ' _

As she pressed the send button she sat down on the couch where Warrick now had Sam in his lap telling him how great he was. At that moment a thought crossed her mind and she gave her partner a nervous kind of look.

"He's crawling now! We're in for a lot of trouble." She laughed.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry if this chapter seems like filler, but well it kind of is cause halfway through writing it I had a great idea for the next chapter so this one was kind of neglected. It's kinda fluffy though so I hope you at least enjoyed that 


	8. Lindsey's plan

As it turned out, crawling wasn't the only trick Sam had up his sleeve to keep his mother, father and sister occupied. Within a week of first crawling, he had become so active and sneaky that the entire house had to be baby-proofed, much to the aggravation of its older occupants.

"I swear he's not 6 months old yet; how does he know to be sneaky?" Catherine asked hysterically after spending twenty minutes chasing after her son. "He gets it from you!" She narrowed her eyes accusingly at Warrick who was putting locks on all the low cupboards in the kitchen. He was debating whether or not it would be worth his while to reply to her comment when he was saved from the decision by Lindsey entering the kitchen. After an unsuccessful attempt to open a drawer she sighed heavily with severe teenage exasperation.

"You guys were supposed to be _baby_-proofing the house not people-proofing." She was still trying to open the drawer. Catherine moved to show her how to open the drawer.

"It's not that hard Linds!" She rolled her eyes but soon found herself also unable to open the drawer. Biting her lip in frustration she put on a sweet voice.

"Warrick!" She called. He laughed and got up from the cupboard to open the drawer.

"Thanks!" Smiled Lindsey before adding a sarcastic, "Let's just hope we don't need anything from the kitchen while Warrick's at work!" Taking a spoon from the drawer she retrieved her ice cream and left the roof.

-

Over the next few weeks it seemed that every citizen in Las Vegas was embarking on a new life of crime resulting in Warrick being very busy at work, working a lot of overtime and being very tired when he came home. At the same time Sam started to play up, deciding he didn't want to sleep during the night anymore and keeping Catherine up with him. With all this going on, tension in the house was near boiling point.

Realizing that things would never settle by themselves Lindsey decided to take matters into her own hands and devised a plan so devious and cunning it would have made her mother would have been proud. With the help of Sara, her more than willing accomplice, she put her plan into action.

-

Catherine arrived home from dropping Lindsey off at school. She stifled a yawn as she produced a bottle of milk from the fridge and placed it into the cradle to warm. She busied herself changing Sam's diaper while she waited for the bottle to heat up then she fed the extremely hungry child in her lap. He had just about finished his bottle when the phone rang. When Cath answered it she was surprised to hear Sara's voice on the other end.

"Hey Cath! How are you?" Her friend asked.

"I'm good, you?"

"Great. Actually I was just wondering if I could steal your son for a little while. It's Gil's day off and we're taking Lily to the park and we were just wondering if you'd let us bring Sam with us?" Sara propositioned, hoping the whole thing sounded plausible.

"Uhh...I don't know Sara I'm really tired I don't think I could face the park." Catherine sighed. It sounded like a fun day out but she hadn't gotten any sleep last night.

"You don't have to come. In fact I don't want you to." Sara laughed slightly. "You know how much Lily loves Sam and Gil's always complaining that he hardly ever gets to see his godson; I just thought it would be nice if we took him off your hands for a while, let you get some rest." Sara's offer was tempting, very tempting. Catherine wavered and accepted it.

"You're sure you don't mind?" Catherine asked.

"Not at all."

"And you'll be able to manage with both of them, I mean now that he's crawling he's a bit of a handful." She warned the younger, less-experienced mother.

"Cath!" Sara's voice carried a warning tone. "We'll be fine!" She reassured her.

"Alright then." Catherine gave in.

"Great. We'll be over to pick him up in about an hour."

"See ya then!" Cath smiled down the phone as she heard the receiver on the other side click into its cradle. She hung up her own phone and returned her attention to the 6 month old baby babbling in her lap.

"Do you want to go to the park with Uncle Gil, Aunt Sara and baby Lily?" Catherine cooed in a voice she reserved for speaking to her son. He giggled up at his mother, his father's green eyes sparkling at her. "You do huh?" She tickled his tummy and he giggled some more. "Come on then, let's get you ready." She changed him into a cute pair of jeans and an emerald green t-shirt that made him look just adorable, even if she did say so herself.

She had him ready just as Sara's car pulled into the driveway. Cath answered the door and invited Sara in while she put Sam in his travel seat.

"Well don't you look adorable?" Sara beamed at the miniature Warrick earning herself a large grin as thanks for the compliment. Catherine came back into the room with Sam's baby bag and handed it to Sara.

"Jeez Cath I'm taking him to the park, not home to live with me for a few months!" Sara remarked at the weight of the bag.

"I know it's just in case. Now I have diapers and formula in the bag and some toys in case he gets restless. There are also some clean clothes in case he messes those ones up. Are you sure you're going to be ok?" Cath's face was wrought with worry.

"I'll be fine!" Sara rolled her eyes. "I do have a kid of my own you know." She said dryly.

"I know. I'm sorry!" She looked at Sara apologetically before leaning into the travel seat and covering her child's face in kisses. "You have lots of fun at the park with Aunt Sara and Uncle Gil ok? Mommy will see you when you get back. I love you." Cath's eyes looked like they were full of tears when she said goodbye to Sara and wished them a fun day.

Strapping Sam into the backseat of the car beside Lily Sara noticed Cath was still standing in the doorway. Sara rolled her eyes and laughed.

"And people say first time mothers are uptight. There's no way I'm that bad." She remarked to Gil who had also noticed the older woman's behaviour. He shrugged.

"I guess some people are just better adjusted." He laughed as she climbed into the passenger seat and he pulled out of the driveway.

After watching the Grissoms' car turn out of the street Catherine came back into the house. She looked round to find it empty and realised that it this was the first time since Sam was born that she and Warrick had been alone in the house together. Excited by the thought she ran off to their bedroom to climb into bed beside him.

"Mmm..." Warrick stirred slightly as Catherine crept in beside him, wrapping her arms around him. Rolling over he smiled at his partner and kissed her gently. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked, not really caring about the answer. "You finally get Sam to sleep?"

"No." Catherine said nonchalantly, laughing slightly at the confusion on Warrick's face. "Sara and Gil took him and Lily to the park." She smiled. "We're all alone!" Her smile grew.

"Alone?" Warrick's eyebrows raised and his lips pulled into a sly smile.

"Alone...at least until Lindsey comes home!" She just about got the end of her sentence out before her lips were attacked by Warrick's.

"Well then," He said, moving his head down to kiss her neck. "We better make the most of our time!" His voice came out husky and full of desire. Their kisses heated up as did the temperature in the room as the couple made love to each other.

After it all the collapsed into each other's arms, tired and sated they fell asleep together; something they hadn't had the chance to do in a very long time.

-

A few hours of blissful sleep later Catherine awoke wrapped in the strong arms of her lover. She sighed contentedly before rolling over to check the time. It was 4:30.

_'4:30!' _Catherine sat upright in the bed. Lindsey should have been home from school at 4. Why hadn't she woke them up? Pulling on her robe to cover her flesh she ran out into the house to find her daughter.

"Linds?" She called. No answer.

"Linds?" She shouted louder, a hint of panic working its way into her voice. Still there was no answer. She'd been through every room in the house and now she was getting incredibly worried. At this point she had woken Warrick with her yelling and he was standing looking pensive in the kitchen as he too worried about the teenager's whereabouts.

"Have you tried calling her cell phone?" Warrick asked keeping remarkably calm.

"No!" Catherine sighed at her own stupidity; Lindsey had that cell phone for a reason. "That's a good idea!" She picked up the phone and quickly dialled Lindsey's number.

"Hello." Her daughter sounded as upbeat as usual when she answered the phone.

"Lindsey Willows where the hell are you?" Catherine shouted in a combination of anger and fear.

"Ok Mom, first things first, promise you won't get mad." Lindsey's voice was slow and deliberate.

"Lindsey I know you, and I know you only ever say that when you're about to say something that will make me mad so I'm not promising. Now where are you? Are you at a boy's house?" Hundreds of possibilities ran through Catherine's mind.

"No! Mom, calm down!"

"I'll calm down when you tell me where you are and explain to me why you are not at home!" Catherine was getting worked up.

"I will if you would just listen!" Lindsey was getting exasperated; this wasn't how she'd planned this phone call to go. Catherine sighed on the other line.

"OK, explain yourself Lindsey and it better be good." Catherine bit her tongue.

"Ok firstly I'm at the Grissom's. No I didn't walk here Sara picked me up from school." She answered her mother's question before she asked it.

"But I thought Sara was at the..."

"Still talking Mom!" Lindsey's frustrated tone interrupted her. "She was then after she picked me up from school. I'm at their house now with Sam and we're not coming home until tomorrow."

"What?" Catherine interrupted.

"MOM!" Lindsey didn't care for anymore interruptions. "If you want to know what's going on then you'll have to listen. Now you and Warrick have reservations at the restaurant at the Bellagio for 8. Dress nice. Sara and Gil have very kindly offered to babysit me and my little brother and will return us to you safe and sound tomorrow morning. You and Warrick are going to go out tonight and enjoy yourselves and spend some quality time together. Don't worry about me and Sam we'll be fine with Gil and Sara." Lindsey stopped to give her mother a moment to digest the information.

"What?" She asked again, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Come on Mom weren't you listening. You, Warrick dinner at the Bellagio. At 8. Sara and Gil are gonna watch me and Sam." She repeated flatly. This really wasn't how she had imagined the phone call at all.

"Yes Lindsey I heard you. What I'm having trouble with is understanding you." She heard her daughter make a teenage noise on the other end of the phone.

"Look you and Warrick haven't spent any time alone together since Sam was born and the tension in the house is starting to become unbearable. I just thought I would give you guys the chance to spend some time together and get some rest." She explained her reasoning and heard Catherine give a touched sigh on the other end of the phone.

"So you planned all this?" She asked.

"Well I knew you would never go along with it if I suggested it so I had to plan it."

Catherine felt secretly proud of her daughter's cunning as she went though the details of her plan with her.

"Wait, Sara was in on this?" Catherine was shocked and angry. "Put her on the phone!" She instructed Lindsey; it was definitely an order rather than a request. She heard Sara mumble something like 'way to land me in it' or something before she spoke sweetly into the phone. After spending 5 minutes explaining herself to the older woman Sara insisted that they had her best interests at heart and Catherine bought it. Saying her goodbyes to Sara, Lindsey and Sam she hung up the phone and returned her attention to Warrick.

"Looks like it's just you and me tonight." She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah apparently my taste for interior design was not the only skill of mine my daughter inherited. She set us up." Her voice sounded slightly bitter still. "On the bright side though we have reservations at the Bellagio for tonight!" She smiled and Warrick kissed her.

"She's a lot like her mother that Lindsey." Warrick smiled as Cath explained to him the 15 year olds plan. "And I love her as much as I love her mother." He smiled further; overjoyed at the fact that he had Cath to himself for the entire evening. He made a brief mental note to take Lindsey out shopping later to thank her for this.

"Come on then. Let's go hit the shower and get ready for dinner." He pulled her in the direction of the bathroom as she raised her eyebrows at the suggestiveness of his comment.

* * *

**A/N: **Ok so my idea for this chapter turned out to be a lot bigger than I first imagined so it's going to be in 2 parts lol It's not like it's a cliffhanger you know what's coming...or do you? evil plan laugh Seriously though thanks for reading this far and for all your support and kind words, I hope to have the second part up ASAP so stay tuned for more. 


	9. Dinner

Catherine sat on a stool in front of her vanity putting the finishing touches to her look with a pair of diamond drop earrings that Warrick had bought her for their anniversary.

"Wow!" His voice came from the doorway. Looking over her shoulder Cath got up from the stool. "You look...stunning!" He sighed as he admired her. She wore a figure hugging black dress that was cut low enough at the neckline to reveal just enough flesh without looking trashy. Her strawberry blonde hair fell around her face in soft waves and settled just below her shoulders. He moved towards her and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Thanks." She graciously accepted the compliment. "You don't look so bad yourself!" She smiled at him. It had been so long since they had had the chance to go out somewhere special together and it felt nice to dress up.

"We better get going to catch those reservations." Warrick said after checking his watch. Grabbing her jacket and her purse from the bed Catherine exited the room, putting a little extra sway in her hips as she walked. Warrick followed her out, paying particular attention to the sway.

-

Seated at an intimate table for two in a secluded part of the restaurant, Catherine and Warrick basked in the pleasure of each other's company. The candle on their table flickered, creating ambient lighting effects as the two laughed and conversed together. They discussed work and Catherine's imminent return to the CSI labs, they talked about their past, their memories, their friends, their children and of course Lindsey's latest ploy.

"I mean you've got to hand it to her Cath, she thought it all out. She definitely takes after you." Warrick laughed much to Cath's disapproval; she didn't like being schemed against.

"I know." She resigned. "I have to admit I am kind of proud of her." A smirk crept across her face momentarily. "She thought of everything. Though I will be having words with Sara in the morning!" Warrick laughed out loud. She shot him a look at which he raised an eyebrow in return. "I just don't like being had!" She groaned.

"I know. But on the bright side we've finally get some time alone together." Warrick smiled at the woman facing him thinking to himself how radiant she looked in the candlelight. Cath gave another smirk.

"It is nice to finally have some grown-up time together." She smiled; his green eyes sparkled at her from across the table.

"Away from sneaky babies and scheming teenagers." He chuckled.

"And baby-proofed drawers and the messy house." She added, smiling broadly at him.

"It definitely is nice to spend some time together." He nodded shifting in his chair slightly. "Because...there's something I've been wanting to do for a long time now but I haven't found the opportunity." His voice was tinged with a hint of nervousness when he spoke. He pushed the chair out from the table.

"There's...uh...something I've been meaning to ask you." He got up from his chair and down on bended knee in front of her. She gasped and her heart fluttered as he fumbled in his pocket. A couple at the nearest table looked up from their dinner. Producing a black velvet ring box he held it out in front of him.

"Catherine Willows..." He opened the box to reveal a simple yet elegant solitaire cut diamond platinum ring. She gasped again and tears filled her eyes.

"Will you marry me?" His voice crackled a little with emotion as he looked into her tear filled blue eyes. His own were starting to fill up themselves. The couple at the next table held their breaths. She sighed heavily as the tears fell down her cheeks.

"Of course I will!" A weak voice was all she could manage as she watch a small tear fall from Warrick intense green eyes as he removed the ring from the box and took her hand in his.

"I love you so much!" He couldn't contain his smile as he slid the ring onto her ring finger and kissed her hand. "I love you! And I love our son. And I love Lindsey. I want us to be a proper family. I wanted to make it official." She leaned down and captured his lips with her own, pouring all her emotions into the kiss. Drawing back she admired the ring on her finger.

"I...I can't believe this! This is...I love you!" She took his hands and pulled him to his feet, stealing another kiss as she did so.

The couple at the other table smiled at each other and returned their attentions to their meal. Back at their table with their tears and emotions under control Catherine and Warrick tried their hardest to do the same.

"Wait a second!" Catherine lowered her eyebrows as a thought crossed her mind. "You didn't...you weren't in on this with Lindsey were you?" She waved her finger at him suspiciously. He laughed.

"No! But I am very glad she came up with it. I fully intend on rewarding her for her efforts!" He smiled and his green eye twinkled. Catherine studied him for a second then accepted what he had said and dropped it.

-

Later that evening, after making the most of having the house to themselves by rechristening a lot of the rooms the newly engaged couple lay in bed engaged in pillow talk. She stared at her ring, thinking about how beautiful it was.

"So what kind of wedding do you want?" She asked as she rolled over and lay her head on his chest.

"I don't know." He traced random patterns on her exposed shoulder. "I don't really care, as long as at the end of it I'm married to you." She sat up and looked at him.

"Thanks sweet!" She smiled and planted a kiss on his lips. "But don't think that means you don't have to get involved in the wedding plans." She gave him a cheeky grin and lay back down.

"Really though," He laughed. "My first wedding was at a drive-thru chapel I'm sure whatever you plan will be much better than that."

"Yeah, well my first wedding was to Eddie!" She replied dryly. "At least we know this time we've got it right." She smiled.

"Yeah!" He sighed closing his eyes, ready to drift into a peaceful sleep beside his new fiancé.

"So where do you want to go for our honeymoon?" Cath asked after a moment's silence. Warrick groaned; he obviously wasn't getting to sleep that easily.

-

The next morning Grissom returned Catherine's children to her promptly at 11 o'clock.

"Too afraid to face me herself?" Catherine asked him accusingly noting Sara's absence.

"No!" He smirked back at her. "I volunteered; I don't want my child to be motherless."

"Hey thanks for taking care of them last night. I hope they behaved." Cath said taking Sam's travel seat from Grissom.

"Not a problem, they were great. Except...Lindsey and Sara ganged up on me and made me watch 'How to lose a guy in 10 days.'" He grimaced as Catherine laughed and Warrick grimaced in sympathy.

"Was Sam alright?" She asked when her laughter subsided.

"Yeah he was great. He loved the park! Must have tired him out too, he slept all night." Grissom smiled.

"He what?" Catherine cried out in shock. "All night?"

"Yeah." Grissom nodded and looked mildly confused. "Anyway, I better get going. See you guys later." Grissom waved to the couple and went back to his car.

"Did you hear that?" Catherine asked Warrick as they walked towards the living room. Warrick shrugged. It figured Sam would do something like that.

"Hey Linds!" Catherine called her daughter in from the kitchen. "Don't think I've forgotten about what you did! We still have to have a chat about that." Lindsey entered the living room, announcing her presence with a sigh.

"Come on Mom! I thought you'd got over this." The teenager rolled her eyes and sat down on the coffee table beside her brother who was still in his travel seat.

"I know, but still Lindsey you had me worried sick!" She chastised her daughter. "Don't ever do that again Lindsey, you know how I worry! Number of terrible things I see on the job, every one of them runs through my mind when I don't know where you are!" She continued as she leaned forward to pick Sam up out of his travel seat.

"Whoa!" Lindsey's eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she caught sight of the large diamond ring on her mother's finger. Catherine, realising what had caught her daughter's attention, smiled at the teenager.

"Well, I was going to tell you." She cast a glance at Warrick. "One good thing did come out of all you scheming."

"You finally proposed?" She turned to Warrick and gave him a huge smile before grabbing her mother's hand and pulling it towards her to examine the ring.

"Finally? What you mean finally?" Warrick asked her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh I sort of overheard you practising proposals in the bathroom the other week." She blushed slightly and giggled. "It's a beautiful ring; you've got taste!" She nodded in approval. "But then again we knew that." She winked at him.

"I think it's great!" She hugged Catherine and then Warrick.

"I get to be bridesmaid don't I?" She raised her eyebrows at her mother who shook her head and laughed.

"Of course. You can help me plan the whole wedding if you want." She smiled and hugged her daughter.

"Cool!" The little blonde gave an accomplished smile.

* * *

**A/N: **Ok so it might just have been glaringly obvious what was going to happen in this chapter but sorry I couldn't help myself! I hope you enjoyed! 


	10. The wedding

"Hey guys! We've got some news." Catherine gathered the group's attention. She and Warrick had decided they would tell the guys as a group over breakfast.

"You're not pregnant again, are you?" Greg asked nervously, still recovering from the emotional scars she had given him during her pregnancy.

"No!" She shook her head and shot Greg a look.

"OK then what is it?" Asked an impatient Nick.

"We're engaged!" Catherine grinned and held out her hand to show off her engagement ring.

"Congratulations!" The team sung in unison.

"Catherine, this ring...it's gorgeous!" Sara gasped as she looked at the ring. "Or should I say Warrick, this ring is gorgeous!" She shot him a bright smile.

"So when's the big day?" Nick asked excitedly, feeling a lot more patient now the waitress had brought him his food.

"Oh it won't be for a while yet." Catherine assured them. "It'll take me at least 6 months to a year to plan the whole thing." She looked excitedly at Sara who was avoiding making eye contact with her.

"To a year?" Greg said in disbelief. "How much is there to plan?" He never got an answer to his question just a glare from Catherine and 3 'what are you doing?' looks from the guys.

"Don't worry Greggo!" Cath shot him a smile. "Many hands make light work." She looked pointedly at Sara who reluctantly met her gaze. Warrick gave a little chuckle.

"Yeah and by many hands she means you two." He pointed at Nick and Sara.

"Us? Why only us? Why can't Greg help?" Nick whined. Greg's eyes widened in fear at the thought.

"Because Nicky my boy, you are going to be in the wedding party. I want you to be my best man, man." Warrick smiled at his best friend whose mouth opened and eyes filled up slightly.

"I'd be honoured!" He smiled back and he and Warrick shared a high five.

"And Sara, I was wondering if you would consider being my maid of honour." Catherine asked hopefully. Sara was taken aback.

"Really? Me?"

"Well yeah, we've gotten a lot closer over the last few years and I'd be honoured if you would agree." She smiled at the young brunette sitting facing her with tears in her eyes.

"Of course I will Cath!" She beamed.

"Now our play dates have a purpose." She smiled. Sara forced a smile back. Memories of shopping trips with Catherine flooded into her mind filling her with fear.

-

True to her prediction it took Catherine almost 9 months to plan the wedding, having been slowed down considerably by her return to work, even if it was only part time, and planning Sam's first birthday party. If Sam's party was anything to go by then the wedding would be nothing short of spectacular.

Now with just a week to go before the big day Catherine was in over drive and it was driving everyone around her nuts.

"No! I did not order that! I wanted the peach calla lilies. Peach!...No they are not the same." The florist on the other end of the phone was stressing Catherine out.

"Thank you!" She growled and hung up after the manager had assured her that the correct flowers would be ready for her to pick up the day before the wedding. Taking a deep breath she walked back into the fitting room feeling only slightly calmer than before.

"Oh Lindsey, you look beautiful." She sighed. "Turn! Turn around for me!" She ordered the young blonde. "Oh yes that is perfect!" She smiled at the dress maker kneeling on the floor beside her daughter; finally something was going right.

"Alright Sara! You're turn."

Sara got up from her seat and stood on the small platform by the dressmaker.

"Yes!" Catherine cried out with joy. Delighted that after the disaster that was the last dress fitting, where Lindsey's dress fell off her shoulders and was too big in the hip and Sara's was about a foot too long, that both dresses now fit perfectly. She left the room with the dress maker to settle the bill while Sara and Lindsey changed.

"So do you think the guys are getting it this bad?" Lindsey asked Sara as they dressed.

"Are you kidding? They're probably at your house now playing playstation and drinking beer or something!" Sara rolled her eyes.

"Men!" They both said in unison. Sara laughed at the teenager's attitude. She was a quick study.

"Come on you guys!" Catherine's voice came from the doorway. "I'll buy you a coffee." She smiled at the two tired women in the fitting room and waited for them to follow her out.

-

Six days of frantic phone calls and three breakdowns later the eve of the wedding arrived. Catherine and Warrick's house was going to be used as head quarters for the girls while the guys would be operating out of Sara and Grissom's house.

"Can you believe this?" Warrick asked the other men standing on his front door step. "I'm being kicked out of my own house." He shook his head in disbelief.

"At least your house hasn't been offered up for invasion." Grissom said pointedly, this was the first he had heard any mention of the plan to use their house for headquarters.

"Oh quit complaining." Catherine rolled her eyes. "Oh and don't forget these." She handed them each a piece of paper.

"What are these?" Greg asked.

"Your schedules." Cath said, as if it should have been obvious.

"Schedules?" The men asked.

"Yes. I don't want any mistakes or surprises, so stick to them." She smiled sweetly at them.

"You should feel lucky." Sara walked up behind Catherine. "Ours are about as thick as War and Peace!" The men suddenly felt lucky and developed an urge to leave.

"Alright now, you boys behave without us." Catherine warned and gave Warrick a long kiss goodbye. Sara did the same to Grissom, promising to make it up to him later for not telling him about the guys staying over earlier. The rest of the night in the girls' house was filled with pampering, gossiping and giggling. The rest of the night in the boys' house was spent drinking beers, swapping stories and laughing.

The following morning organised chaos broke out in Catherine's townhouse. In a combination of nervousness and excitement Catherine was completely hyper and woke everyone up at 6am. Her very groggy bridesmaids were then given their orders and set about carrying them out. Both of them would be very glad when this wedding was over.

The first order of business was getting the children dressed. After feeding Lily Sara cleaned her up and got her ready. She wore a teal coloured dress that puffed out from the waist. It matched the bridesmaids' dresses perfectly and was accompanied by little matching teal shoes. Her curly brown hair fell around her face and was decorated by hair band with a little butterfly on it that Grissom had found to match her dress.

"She looks so adorable!" Cried Lindsey who was currently helping her mother negotiate Samuel into his suit. He looked like a shrunken down man in his tiny black dress pants and matching jacket. His white shirt remained open at the collar under his teal cravat over which he wore an off-white waistcoat. The cravat made his eyes sparkle while his dark curly hair gave him a somewhat cheeky look.

"He's gorgeous!" Sara smiled at the sight of the little man.

"Yeah but how long do you think it will last?" Catherine asked, shaking her head.

It was now time for the bridesmaids to get ready, a task that was made that little bit more difficult by the two children playfully crawling and running around their feet. Their dresses were silken in texture and sheen and deep teal in colour, held up by tiny spaghetti straps that led to a modest cut neckline. The skirt flowed out from the waist and came to rest on the floor. Both Sara and Lindsey had their hair curled.

"You both look so beautiful!" Catherine cried from the doorway, on the verge of tears for what was probably the twentieth time that morning.

"Thanks." They both blushed slightly under their flawless make-up.

"Come on Mom!" Said Lindsey pulling her in the direction of her bedroom. "Time to get you ready."

Half an hour later Catherine was ready safe for the twenty intricate buttons that lined the back of her dress. Sara and Lindsey spent twenty minutes working on the buttons and had only managed about 8 of them. The buttons were tiny and hard to keep hold of and, to add to the difficulty of it all, the buttonholes were not so much buttonholes but rather tiny little loops of elastic through which the buttons had to slide.

"Jeez Cath, what's with the buttons?" Sara said through gritted teeth as she passed button number 11 through its elastic loop counterpart.

"I didn't know they would be this hard to do up." Catherine replied defensively, gasping as Lindsey pinched her while fastening button 12. "They just looked pretty!" Sara couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Yeah well I doubt Warrick will be quite as patient as us tonight after the wedding. He'll probably just rip..." Sara stopped herself from finishing her sentence when she remembered Lindsey was in the room. The teenager laughed.

"It's ok Sara, I know about the birds and the bees and the desires of men." She looked at her mother her who was smiling back at her. "Although for the sake of my sanity I'm very glad you didn't finish that sentence." She shuddered. The older women laughed.

10 minutes later there was a collective sigh of relief as button number 20 was successfully buttoned. Sara and Lindsey now stepped back to admire the bride. Tears fell down Sara's eyes as she held her eyes open and waved trying to stop them from ruining her make-up. Lindsey gasped slightly as she looked at her mother, tears filling her own blue eyes.

"You look amazing Mom!" The teenager sighed. "Warrick's not going to know what hit him." The mother and daughter shared a hug, then pulled Sara in with them making it a group hug. Breaking apart they then set about waking up the babies and loading them into the wedding car that would be arriving in exactly 10 minutes.

-

Over in the boys' house getting ready was a much more calm and relaxed affair. The men got up, got breakfast and then took it in turns to shower. No fuss. Nick then headed to pick up the girls' flowers from the florist, promptly at 10am as per Catherine's schedule. By the time he came back the rest of the guys were almost ready. Taking the last available room, he couldn't help but laugh to himself as he got ready in Lily's sunflower yellow and grass green room complete with bug stickers.

Warrick was in the master bedroom adjusting his cravat when Grissom walked in to retrieve his cuff links.

"Nervous?" He asked the young CSI; Grissom always did have a soft spot for Warrick.

"Excited." He sighed then dropped his head and smiled. "And yeah, nervous."

Grissom laughed and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, it's natural." The older man smiled. "Just means you love her."

"Yeah, I know, just jitters you know?"

"When Sara and I got married...let's just say it was a good thing she was the one walking down the aisle because I don't think my legs would have worked." Grissom laughed, as did Warrick. Feeling a lot better Warrick pulled on his suit jacket.

"Thanks Griss!" He smiled appreciatively at his boss.

"Don't mention it." Holding up the schedule Grissom pointed at it and informed the young man he didn't have time to mention it because the wedding car would be arriving in exactly 3 minutes to pick them all up.

-

The room was decorated to perfection. Flowers decorated the chairs at the ends of the rows and there was a big bunch of calla lilies dressing the 'altar' which was lined with a white silk cloth. Candles hung on the walls in holders giving the room a soft glow and adding to the romantic ambiance. Warrick took his place at the altar with Nick, Greg and Grissom behind him. Brass stood at the entrance and directed the guests to their designated seats. It was also his responsibility to cue the band when Catherine was entering.

The congregation was small, comprised of their closest friends, their remaining family members and a few other people from the office and their neighbourhood. Warrick checked his watch again. He couldn't make out what time the numbers were saying, he was just nervous. Fortunately he didn't have to wait much longer. With a nod Brass instructed the band to begin playing and he made his way to his seat.

The first people to walk, or rather toddle, down the aisle were Lily and Sam. When they reached the altar, Grissom picked Lily up in his arms and Sam stood beside Warrick. The resemblance between them was apparent as they stood side by side in their matching outfits.

Next Sara and Lindsey walked down the aisle together. Their teal coloured dresses floating along the carpet that covered the aisle. In front of them they held the bouquets of peach calla lilies that Nick had picked up from the florists; the peach complimented their dresses beautifully. They took their places facing the boys and turned to watch Catherine as she walked down the aisle.

Walked wasn't exactly the word to describe it, it looked more like she was floating down the aisle in her off-white, off the shoulder wedding gown. With each step she took, more of the detailed in the material that lined the pleat in the front of the dress revealed itself. Her hair was wavy and hanging round her face, upon which there was the biggest grin any of the crowd had ever seen her wear. She looked stunning.

"You look beautiful!" Warrick said softly as she took her place beside him. "Are you ready?" He asked, his voice carrying a hint of nervousness.

"Let's do this." She smiled back at him and they both turned to face the priest.

Tears filled the eyes of their guests as they watched their two friends finally exchange their vows.

"Do you, Warrick Brown, take this woman, Catherine Willows, to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death parts you?" The minister asked. Warrick gave his partner a bright smile and replied.

"I do."

"Do you, Catherine Willows, take this man, Warrick Brown, to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death parts you?" The minister turned to Catherine who looked into Warrick's sparkling green eyes and, blinking back tears of her own, responded.

"I do."

"Well then, by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The minister gave Warrick a small nod and he leaned in and planted a soft but searing kiss on his bride before they turned to face to congregation as man and wife. Warrick picked Sam up in his arms and Catherine wrapped her arm around Lindsey and they walked up the aisle as one, big, happy family.

* * *

**A/N: **So I didn't want to break this to you at the start of the chapter, because well I thought it best not to spoil it for ya's, but I think this is going to be the last chapter of this fic. I want to thank all you you who read it and especially tose of you who took the time to write a review. You're support helped keep the story going. I only hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it

Thanks, Emma


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